Pirate Titans
by Arden Tenjou
Summary: In a random accident with Law's powers, Levi, Erwin, Hange, Eren, Mikasa and Armin from the Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) universe find themselves on the deck of the Thousand Sunny in the middle of the Grand Line! (First pairing: Zoro x Levi). Yaoi.
1. Introduction

Note:

Out of respect for the author, Isayama Hajime's choice not to define the gender of Hange, this character will be referred to by the gender non-specific "they". Enjoy!

...

Introduction

Levi had had a terrible day. Yet somehow he had the strangest sense of grim certainty that it was going to get worse. He'd lost sleep the previous night in trying to attack what he thought to be a stain on the ceiling of his quarters (but turned out to be a shadow cast by the low lamp light). Then during a trip into town to get his civilian clothes cleaned, some MPs took time out of their day to stir shit up and test his patience not to kick their teeth in. Finally, during the afternoon practice session with the new recruits, Eren Jaeger had fucked up a difficult maneuver and managed to nearly cut his own arm off.

"I...I'm sorry, sir..."

Jaeger stood there like a scolded puppy, shaking and holding a sickeningly severed forearm, now attached to his upper limb only by a flap of skin. Though because it had already begun to steam and heal, there was nothing technically wrong with him. Titan physiology was quite something, Levi thought. But his grudging concern for Eren made him scowl bitterly; Eren was unbelievably lucky. For anyone else, a mistake like that might be the end of their life, not just their career as a soldier.

"Eren, don't try to speak, just let yourself heal," said his friend. The talented one. Levi felt some affinity with her.

"Mikasa, we shouldn't be in here...only Eren was asked to report..." whispered the weak, clever one, sneaking behind his friends and looking toward the exit.

But Erwin replied with a diplomatic smile, "It's all right. I'm grateful to you two for getting him here so quickly."

Though of course the clever kid was right; this was a disciplinary meeting and only Eren was really needed. Well, him and the one whose responsibility he was. Levi, obviously.

"Oi. How's it look?" Levi asked the freak.

Hange had been waiting in the corner of the room to be called upon, clearly only just holding back the desire to squeal. Needing no further encouragement, they leapt into Eren's personal space and began examining his wound.

"Incredible!" they panted, badly attempting not to over-salivate. "I've never seen an exposed nerve before! Hey, does this hurt?"

"AGH!" Eren's face twisted in agony.

"Squad Leader Hange...!" cried the blond kid, caught between respect for his superior and care for his friend.

Levi scowled. "We just need to know if he'll die from this, crazy."

But Hange was in another world. "Such beautiful, cleanly severed muscle fibers!" they panted. Then another reverent poke.

"Ouch! Please stop that, sir!"

Erwin took notice of Levi's distemper at the farce and smiled softly before his commander mask took over and he looked sternly on Eren. "Cadet Jaeger."

Eren's face whipped up from his own steaming arm. "Sir!" he stumbled to reply. Hange reluctantly let Levi drag them out of Eren's personal space.

Erwin folded his hands, now showing his full poker face. The mere fact of being unable to perceive any emotion in his face, good or bad, provoked a special kind of subtle fear. It was especially effective on new recruits, but now and then it gave even Levi chance for pause.

"You're our most valuable asset right now," Erwin said evenly. "And we still don't know for sure how your healing works. You can't afford to be reckless. Do you understand the seriousness of what happened?"

Eren swallowed his childish panic and grim determination overtook his young face. "I do, sir!"

"And you'll make sure it doesn't happen again?"

"Of course, sir!"

"You were careless," his talented friend chided. "Apologize."

Though he normally seemed to balk at the strong one's intervention, perhaps the severity of the injury had humbled him somewhat. Eren clutched his arm to his body and meekly bowed his head. "I'm sorry, sir."

Erwin's hard look dissolved into a smile. "As long as you're careful from now on." He sighed and his eyes passed down to a form on his desk, though Levi could tell it was Erwin's way of showing disappointment. "Now, to the matter at hand. Thank you, cadets, you don't need to stay for this."

Eren blinked, obviously not the only person who looked at Erwin's poker face and expected bad things coming. "That's it?"

"Who did you think was in trouble here?" As he spoke, Levi pushed off the back wall where he'd been leaning.

As the cadets stared at Levi's approach, the blond one took in a breath in surprise. "Of course. I should have known," he said softly, gazing at Levi with the usual awe of the new recruits. "This disciplinary session wasn't for you, Eren."

Levi folded his arms before Erwin, waiting to hear the lecture he deserved.

"Captain Levi?" Eren murmured, gazing fretfully between the two men. He clearly admired them both so much, not to mention he likely felt reasonable guilt for what had happened. "Wait, sir, the captain did nothing wrong!"

"All that blood loss getting to your brain?" Levi grumbled, flicking his gaze up at the kid. "Don't forget, brat, I own your ass. If you fall down and crack your barely-working head open, I'm the one who has to answer for it."

"But it's not the captain's fault! Commander, it was an accident!"

The strong one put a hand on Eren's shoulder and started to urge him away. "Let's go, Eren."

The weak one nodded and joined in, taking Eren's good arm and softly urging him out.

"But...!"

As his friends pushed Eren toward the door, Levi sighed and turned his attention back to Erwin. Sitting at his desk, Erwin's hands were woven together and concealing his mouth. People like Levi, who knew him well, were familiar with Erwin's rare expressions of displeasure. Needless to say, he was not pleased. Still standing by, Hange glanced between them with understandable pity for Levi. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of Erwin's displeasure.

"So," Erwin said with a sigh. "Let's talk."

And that was how things stood on the day their world turned upside down.

No sooner had he said these words than every one of the six people still currently in Erwin's office felt a sickening jolt. The whole world felt squeezed, then the light seemed to dim and blur. The floor beneath them grew soft and then nonexistent, opening up to a black hole that yawned open like a titan's mouth. Everything in sight around them streaked away from them like psychedelic paint dripping. One more jolt, and all six landed on a slightly different floor in varying states of grace.

Hange, who had fallen flat on their face, struggled up, staring at the surface beneath them. "Grass?" they murmured, gazing at the soft green fronds with fascination.

Levi and Mikasa, who both managed to land kneeling, briefly caught each others' gaze. But their eyes were soon drawn up toward the overpowering light that was now above them. Levi shaded his eyes and blinked against them tearing up. Then they widened in spite of the discomfort, unable to account for what they saw. After suddenly leaving Erwin's dark office, all six of humanity's greatest hopes now found themselves under a sky none of them had ever even imagined: undarkened by clouds, unfettered by walls, uncrowded by houses, mountains, or even trees. It was a place most in their world had never even fully believed in, let alone seen for themselves. The open sea.

Armin was the first to realize. He slowly got to his feet. In disbelief that nearly stole the strength from his legs as soon as they were under him, he gazed out over the place he had only seen in his dreams. His eyes soon grew hot and red.

"Eren..." he whispered.

Eren, who had landed on his injured arm (still steaming with the last remnants of healing), got up snarling from the pain. "What the hell just happened?"

"Eren!" Armin barked, in a voice that broke.

"What?"

Eren eventually followed Armin's gaze. His lips parted. His heart flew to his throat. The two boys, who were soon joined in their reverie by Erwin, could find no words to describe what they felt upon seeing this expanse of blue before them. To their eyes, it stretched on forever. The soft sound of waves, the smell of the salt on the air, the sunlight glinting off the unending surface. It was all beyond their imagining.

Levi watched them, distantly wondering what it was to feel like they did. He also could not suppress a thought which rose for all the eyes he had known that used to glow with hope, none of whom would ever see this. And with that, for him, the wonder faded.

But the less emotionally inclined of the group had more immediate concerns. Mikasa's eyes narrowed. She drew her hand trigger and loaded a blade. Levi shifted his feet in the grass to make a more stable base, preparing himself to grab the knife in his boot if necessary.

"Before we get all misty-eyed," he muttered. "Let's see if our hosts here can tell us what the shit is going on."

The new arrivals to the sea known as the Grand Line now finally became fully aware of their surroundings. Though they were indeed on the ocean, more specifically they stood on the deck of a large and grandiose ship, painted with gay colors and accented with playful architecture. This in itself, to the occupants of Wall Rose, was difficult to understand. No one had much time or inspiration to decorate inside the walls. But it was dwarfed in their attention by the eclectic group of people sharing the deck with them.

A skinny boy with a straw hat sat flabbergasted not too far from Hange. Behind him cowered a muscular man of similar age with a long nose, as well as some kind of strange, small, furry animal, badly hiding himself behind the one in the hat. Erwin was facing a man almost half again his own height, with a wild blue mane of hair in a huge pompadour, who inexplicably seemed to have cannons for arms. Across from Armin were too women, also towering over him in height, one barely wearing any clothing and causing him to blush. Two men faced Levi and Mikasa, one apparently ready to draw one of the three katanas on his waist, the other appearing to be casually smoking, dressed in a fine, black suit, though his eyes betrayed his shock. Lastly, Eren was staring at what could only be described as an eight-foot skeleton. If it was some kind of decoration, Levi thought absently, it was in bad taste.

One of the women, with dark hair and a look of least surprise, glanced around the new arrivals to another person standing behind them. "Torao-kun. Did you mean to do this?"

The Survey Corps whirled around, in particular Levi and Mikasa, who did not like or expect to be surprised. Behind them, a tall young man with a snow leopard hat and dark rings under his eyes stared back at them, one hand awkwardly held out before him as if bouncing an invisible ball. For an instant, though most thought they imagined it, a veil of blue light in a perfect circle surrounded that hand. As they watched it petered out and vanished.

"I was...tired from fighting Vergo," the man murmured. He had a voice strangely similar in timber to Levi's. He lowered his hand and briefly squinted as if fighting off a headache. "I thought I would need more power so I dipped into my reserve strength. I...didn't mean to do this..."

Levi cast his gaze around in silence for a moment at the sea of dumbfounded faces. He sighed, then merely flicked a demanding glance at Erwin. Erwin blinked down at him for a moment before realizing what was called for. Finally, he cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Good afternoon," he said anticlimactically.

At that moment, the skeleton leaned over and merrily chimed in, "And good day to you! Who might you all be?"

Eren and Armin both shouted in surprise and fell back onto the grass. Mikasa glanced to make sure they were all right then flashed her blade at the creature. "Stay back," she murmured, with a soft voice but eyes that burned with imminent danger.

The skeleton recoiled. Levi could not help staring at it; what sort of effect was that?

As this happened, the man in the hat swayed, his eyes fluttering. The closest crew member, the huge, half-metal man, reached out to steady him. "Whoa there!"

"Tora-law!" said the blond man in the suit.

"Torao-kun!"

"Torao!" cried a view members of the crew.

The metal man got him back on his feet and glanced down in concern. "Hey, Torao. You all right?" he asked in a thick, gangster dialect.

The man nodded. He placing a hand against his own forehead, stepping away toward the railing to steady himself. He breathed heavily there for a moment, sweating slightly and looking ill.

"You all right, Torao?" the kid in the straw hat asked seriously.

The man in the hat caught his gaze, noted the concern and eventually nodded again.

"All right. Good. So where's my sea king?!"

The area he pointed to, underneath the feet of Levi and Mikasa, was moist as if something huge and wet had been sitting on it only moments before. Most of the Survey Corps took a moment, while contemplating the size of what could have been there, to wonder what a "sea king" was.

The skeleton hesitantly stepped forward, though showing some reticence about coming any closer to Mikasa. "Well...everything's a bit confusing..." He stepped forward with a flourish. "So let's all sit down to lunch!"

"You don't get to decide that!" chorused several members of the crew.

"Sanji!" the straw-hat kid complained, holding a growling stomach.

"All right, keeps your pants on," said the man in the suit, starting to cross the deck toward a door to one of the inside cabins. He stopped, removed his cigarette and addressed the man with the swords as he exhaled a puff of smoke. "Hey, Marimo. You got this if these guys try anything funny, right?"

The samurai picked his ear, refusing to meet the other man's gaze. "I don't take orders from you," he said softly. His eyes finally flicked toward the man in the suit. He added maliciously, "Eyebrows."

A vein popped in the blond man's forehead. "Say that again!"

"Sanji!" the kid in the hat complained.

"Shut your face, rubber man! I'm doing it!" The man in the suit cursed under his breath and puffed smoke angrily as he walked straight past Erwin toward what was likely the kitchen. "You people all right with fried rice? Cause that's about all I can make in the next few minutes. Losing a main ingredient does limit one's choices."

"Meat, Sanji!"

"I'll put some chicken in the rice so shut up for two seconds!"

Several minutes later, both groups were sitting on the deck in an awkward silence as the one called Sanji dolled out food to everyone.

Hange bobbed their head slightly in thanks as they accepted a plate from Sanji. They gazed down at the warm, delicious-smelling rice for a moment. "Erwin," Hange said softly out of the corner of their mouth. "I don't suppose you have any idea what's going on?"

Erwin, however, seemed more lost than anyone. He stared at the plate of rice in his hands with an uncharacteristically blank look of confusion. "No. Why are they feeding us?"

"Eren. Don't eat anything until you see them eat it first," Mikasa whispered. Levi rolled his eyes. He never got used to her obsessive concern. Though he had to admit, he wasn't in any hurry to take them up on this offer.

Armin smiled hesitantly as Sanji handed him a plate. "Oh...thank you! How kind."

"Not at all," Sanji replied, grinning around his cigarette.

Levi sat without comment for the moment, arms folded with a deepening sense of unease. When Sanji came to him with plate of food in hand, he merely cast his irritation toward the blond chef. He eyes the plate dubiously for a moment, then sighed as his irritation reached its peak.

"All right," Levi said, having made his decision.

Levi got to his feet and glared up at Sanji, who may have been a good foot and a half taller, who to his credit merely returned the look with a cold stare. Levi shot an accusing glance around all present before he addressed everyone.

"I've got no interest in sitting down to have a friendly tete-a-tete with a bunch of costumed freaks I don't know, when we just got dragged out of reality. Someone explain what the fuck is going on."

Sanji's brows twitched together slightly. "You should know I don't take kindly to people who don't appreciate what they're given. You want to make an enemy of a cook on the sea?"

"First tell me who the fuck you are, face fungus."

Sanji's cigarette, framed by his rough goatee, burned down to the filter as his rage ticked up a notch. "F-...face...f-... I see. So that's your attitude to someone that feeds you, hamster man?"

Levi frowned. "What the fuck is a hamster?"

"Okay." The orange-haired woman sighed and got to her feet with an air of authority. "We're all at a loss, but probably no one more than our new friends. And spinning our wheels arguing won't get us anywhere. I think the only person who can answer anyone's questions is Torao-kun. So, are you all right to talk now?"

The man in the hat, who until now had been sitting on the sidelines with legs tucked to his chest and a sword folded in in his arms, finally looked up. "Yeah," he said grimly. But then, he seemed like a pretty grim person.

"I thought so," Levi said, eyes narrowing at him. "You're the one that brought us here. Am I right? Fine. I don't need a long explanation, just get us back where we came from and let's be done with this."

"Wait, Levi!" Hange cried. "I want to get back as much as anyone. I have some experiments in motion that Moblit can't handle on his own-"

"And a Survey Corps and an entire race of people that can't function without us," Levi cut in viciously.

"-but this kind of event is unprecedented!" Hange went on, unhindered. "If we leave before we know what happened, how will you be able to sleep at night?!"

"Whether you want to leave or not is irrelevant," the man in the hat said in a low, soft voice. "The fact is, I've only done this once before, and never on purpose. I'm not really sure how it happens. More than that, I don't think I'll have the strength to try again for a while."

He held his hand out, palm facing toward the deck. "Room," he murmured. His eyes were tightly clenched with unease, as he were just as lost and out of his depth as they were. For a moment, a veil of blue struggled to form around his hand. Seconds later, it fizzled out. With a twitch of his brows that showed this action likely hurt him, the man lowered his head and folded his arms again.

"I can't use my powers at all right now."

"Powers...?" Armin murmured, eyes widening.

The man in the hat's gaze flicked up at that. He glanced at Levi, who still glowered at him like a demon. The man seemed to consider things from their perspective for another moment before he lowered his head in resignation.

"If it will make you feel any better, I'll tell you what I think I understand. I'm a devil-fruit eater. I ate the ope-ope no mi. My name is Trafalgar Law, and the marines call me the 'Surgeon of Death'."

Whether by way of demonstration or out of habit, he placed a soft touch on the hilt of the sword cradled in his arms. "I have the power to cut anything inside my sphere, my operating room, without harming it. Just now I was trying to cut a poisonous organ out of a fish caught by the captain of this ship, using that power. I intended to pull the organ out without damaging the fish. Instead..."

His dark eyes glanced around the group of newcomers. "I pulled you from your own dimension. And likely replaced your presence with the fish, although I'm not sure." He gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I did this for such a foolish reason. I've been on this ship too long."

"What...? You..." Looking almost in shock, Eren slowly let the plate in his hands rest on the grass beneath him. Of anyone, he was likely the most desperate to return, thought Levi. The absurdity would likely be the least amusing to him.

"We didn't ask to come here!" Eren cried. "You call this absurd?! It's not just our lives, there are people relying on us back inside the walls! You may have jeopardized our whole race! How are you going to get us home?!"

The man with the hat clenched his jaw. Either he was actually in pain or this whole incident was a serious blow to his pride. Or both. "For now...all I can say is you'll have to wait."

"Hm. So that's all you've got?" Levi asked.

The man glared up at him, eyes burning with insolence, and a tightness of his mouth that said that others had tried to beat it out of him before and failed. "Yes."

Levi gauged that expression for a moment. He had to admit, he didn't hate tenacity like that. Albeit it was coming from someone he considered an obstacle at this point. He considered.

"All right," Levi said. Then he merely sat down beside Erwin.

Mikasa's gaze landed on Levi with a hint of accusation. "You quieted down quickly. Nothing else to say, Captain?" she asked with her characteristic softness. It took nothing away from the impertinence in her undertone.

Levi sensed she was picking a fight but chose not to take it up. "We got our answer. Getting angry about it doesn't seem likely to yield any results."

"Agreed! And given that's the case, we might as well try to get along, hm?" Hange said merrily. "My name's Hange Zoe, by the way. I'm a Squad Leader of the Survey Corps, that's a branch of the military where we come from."

"Military. So they're basically marines," the robot man commented softly to the samurai.

"Nh," the samurai answered, his eyes narrowing at Levi. Levi frowned back at him; what was that reaction? Did these people have something against the military?

Hange turned their gaze to Armin, who sat nearest them. They nodded at the crew. Armin swallowed a bite of rice. "Uh...sorry!"

Armin hastily put down his plate and got to his feet with a salute, slamming his fist over his heart. "Armin Arlert, private of the Survey Corps!" In the process of sitting back down, he bumped his funny bone against the rail behind him and sank into a quivering ball of pain.

Mikasa, who happened to be sitting beside him, did not seem likely to join in his gesture. She considered for a few moments of tense silence, the eyes of the other members of the Survey Corps on her, before she eventually said, "Mikasa Ackerman, Private."

"Eren Jaeger. Also...a private in the Survey Corps," Eren said softly, a polite kid in spite of his tendency to anger. He seemed torn between whether to salute or not, but in the end merely nodded in a half bow. "Hello."

"My name is Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps. Nice to meet all of you," Erwin said with a smile. "Thank you for the food. I'm sure this will all work out, but we appreciate your hospitality in the mean time."

All gazes then turned to Levi, who sat beside Erwin absently bobbing one foot like a cat flicking its tail in annoyance. At length, he capitulated to the pressure of more than a dozen gazes, all expecting him to do something.

"Levi," he said simply.

The crew of the ship seemed pleased by the fact that they introduced themselves, and with more or less friendliness, reciprocated. The metal man was called Franky and referred to himself as a cyborg, part man and part machine. It didn't take long for Hange to get curious and start poking around his various attachments. The skeleton, the existence of whom none of the newcomers was quite willing to acknowledge yet due to shock, was Brook. The little animal, who still wouldn't completely show itself, was Chopper, and was also apparently (somehow) the ship's doctor. The man with the long nose, who seemed equally cautious about getting anywhere near them, was Usopp. The dark-haired, elegant woman was Robin, the samurai was Zoro, the cook was Sanji, the orange-haired woman was Nami, and the kid with the straw hat was Luffy. And also, apparently, the captain.

"And I'm the man who's going to be the pirate king!" he concluded, grinning.

After which followed a long pause.

" 'Pirate'...?" Erwin wondered politely.

"Yep."

After which followed a similarly long pause.

The so-called Mugiwara ("straw hat") crew looked around at each other, unable to account for the Survey Corps's apparent confusion. Eventually, it was Nami who realized the problem. "Is it possible...you all don't know what a pirate is?" she asked.

The Survey Corps exchanged glances before most shook their heads or shrugged.

Luffy burst into excitement at that. "Pirates are the greatest!" he said, and began to talk animatedly. "We have adventures, we sing, we eat! We eat meat every day! Meat is the best! My sea king..." he sighed ruefully.

"Adventures? I see. So you're explorers," Erwin replied. "Not too different from what we do, charting the world outside for the benefit of mankind."

Another awkward moment of silence fell over the pirate crew, as they looked at each other with hesitation.

"Well, no," said Nami, casting her gaze away, unable to look Erwin in the eye. "We're explorers of a kind, but...not by profession. Explorers are paid, usually by governments, to do their work and the products of that work are scientific knowledge. We...have a different revenue stream, and the benefits of our labor...we keep. That's all. But essentially, yes, explorers!" she said, laughing awkwardly.

"You're not paid by the taxes of the people?" Armin asked, perfectly innocently.

"You mean like the marines?" Luffy demanded. "Hell no! We don't answer to anyone! Pirates are the most free people in the world!"

"The most free?" Eren murmured, eyes brightening. Mikasa glanced at him and blushed at the childlike expression of cuteness on his face.

"So you're paid by a philanthropic individual?" Erwin asked.

"Not exactly..." said the man with the long nose, scratching the back of his neck.

"So then you're private contractors, paid by merchants or something similar?" Hange inquired.

"Ah...no," said Sanji. He seemed one of the least embarrassed though, and merely lit up another cigarette.

"May I ask how you do maintain your lifestyle?" Erwin asked.

The crew exchanged glances again as they struggled to search for the right word.

"Well.."

"We basically..."

"Pillage," Zoro said abruptly.

The Survey Corps didn't know quite what to make of this, so no one said anything for a long few moments. The one who finally gathered himself was the one with the most experience at doing so under difficult circumstances.

"Pillage," Erwin repeated.

"Yeah," Zoro said.

"So," Erwin said, with every attempt to be polite. "To put it simply, you're criminals."

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Super!" Clang.

"I see." While trying not to be obvious about the fact, Erwin set his food down on the deck. He made every attempt to hide his discomfort, but Levi noticed he was looking a bit pale. People didn't really fight inside the walls, after all. Rebellions represented a threat to the entire human race, the main reason for the military police's mercilessness when dealing with them.

"Interesting," Hange said, seeming sincere. "Ah, and you must be Torao-kun," they said, indicating the man in the hat, who had not volunteered to introduce himself.

He glanced up, boiling with barely concealed rage. "That's not my name."

"Oh sorry, no we just call him that," Nami said brightly, apparently relieved by the change in topic "His real name is...what was is, Traffy Law?"

"No, Nami. It was Trafillager," Robin said, whether genuinely trying to be helpful or intentionally trying to rankle the man with the hat it wasn't clear.

"I hate this ship," the man in the hat grumbled to himself. "It's Trafalgar Law."

"Nice to meet you, Trafalgar Law. So with that, we'll be intruding on your ship for the time being," Hange said at last.

Levi took another look around their new hosts and sighed. His intuition about these things was right after all. A day could always get worse.


	2. Chapter 1

Note: google "daki-makura" if you don't know what it is. :)

Chapter One

While they waited for Law to recover, the Mugiwara crew kindly put up some hammocks in the galley of the ship for their temporary guests. They also gave them free roam of the ship, and Sanji even told them the combination to the lock on the fridge. Although he didn't say why they needed one, the Survey Corps figured it out after two meals with Luffy.

Their first night on the ship, when the young ones and Hange were being entertained by the pirate crew, Erwin and Levi both had the same idea. As sounds of merriment rose above, by some unspoken agreement both men hung back in the galley alone.

Levi folded his arms over his narrow chest and looked out the archway toward the hint of moonlight intruding on the dimly lit galley. Even the moon here was bright, he thought. "Should we wait for the freak?" he asked into the cold silence of the room.

Erwin followed his gaze for a moment before shaking his head solemnly. "I don't see much point in a real strategy session just yet. Our options are limited until that man recovers."

"So."

"So."

Levi nodded. "Let's talk."

Erwin closed his eyes, his brows knit with partially concealed worry. "Although there's no need to do this now-"

"I don't care," Levi interjected. "Rather get it over with."

Erwin watched him for a moment to be sure of Levi's sincerity. At length, he nodded. "If you tell me either way, I will believe you," he said softly.

"I know."

"Were you at fault?"

Levi scoffed. "Really? Soft ball questions aren't your style, Erwin. Have you already gone soft from the cozy atmosphere here? Or did the food give you diarrhea?"

"Levi."

There was no room for nonsense in Erwin's tone. Levi abandoned his brief attempt to distract from the issue with a shrug. "What should I say? You know as well as I do, I could have had my hands tied and a meteor fall on my head. Whatever happens to that kid is still my responsibility." Levi briefly met Erwin's eyes, then looked away again in discomfort. "So yeah, I was at fault."

"I know that," Erwin said, perfectly aware as he did of the ripple of guilt he sent through Levi's chest. "But I also know that you're the only one who's capable of this duty. It's the reason we're talking at all right now."

Levi's fists tightened unconsciously. "Otherwise you'd just take him away from me at this point. Right?"

Erwin watched him expressionlessly. As always, the noble lines of his face concealed any hint of emotion or even tacit signal. Levi really wished that Mike were here, he needed a translator.

"I won't take Eren away from you," Erwin said eventually.

Levi had to admit some surprise at that, as well as an unexpected surge of relief. Erwin didn't usually make such definitive statements about things that could be so changeable. Apart from anything else, although Levi knew that Erwin trusted his skills, he still had doubts now and then whether Erwin trusted his decision-making. Not to mention his interpersonal relations. Did Erwin really think he was worthy of taking care of Eren?

"What are we talking about then?" Levi asked.

"I need to know if what happened was preventable," Erwin said. "If it was, I need you to explain why you weren't doing your job."

Levi gritted his teeth, turning away.

"If not, I need to know whether further safeguards over Eren are needed, or if we have to be prepared for a potential worst case scenario."

"I got it."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then which is it, Levi?"

Levi took his time forming his reply. Erwin would easily see through a lie. Manipulation wasn't Levi's forte to begin with, so it was a bad idea. But to give him the truth, Levi first had to make sure he wasn't lying to himself either. He closed his eyes and recalled what happened earlier that day, though now it seemed so long ago. His jaw tightened as he realized the truth he had known at the back of his mind all along. Why his attention had been divided.

He opened his mouth to answer.

Clunk.

Both men looked up at the sound of a boot meeting the highest rung of the step ladder. A few more steps and they saw it was the samurai, and seeming first mate of this crew, Roronoa Zoro. He stopped at the bottom and glanced between the two men, realizing he'd interrupted something. After a moment, he picked his ear as if nothing about this situation interested him.

"I came to see if you guys got lost," he said. "Maybe I came at a bad time."

Erwin glanced up thoughtfully. "There's no rush. We can finish this discussion any time. Right, Levi?"

Levi scowled over at the swordsman. Delaying admitting his mistake to Erwin would only make it harder, make him doubt himself more. If he didn't admit his reason soon, maybe Erwin would start to doubt him too. Maybe he already did.

Levi cast his gaze away, holding back his frustration. He didn't want to delay this, but he lacked the courage to push the subject when Erwin was willing to drop it. "Sure," he replied softly.

Erwin nodded politely to Roronoa as he passed him to climb the ladder. Levi held back a moment, still caught up in his thoughts.

Honestly, if he were in Erwin's position, he would take Eren away from Levi. Or at the very least, put someone else in charge as well. It pained him to admit it, but what he had done was wrong. To anyone else, it would have been a minor mistake, easily forgivable. But Levi knew exactly how deadly a single mistake like that could be on the battlefield. He would find it hard to forgive himself for the reason he hadn't been paying close enough attention to the kid that day. The reason Erwin would be justified never to trust him again. He closed his eyes.

Levi was surprised when he eventually turned to see Roronoa still waiting there, though by now Erwin was long gone. Levi watched him with a questioning look.

"Yes?" Levi asked sardonically.

At first, the swordsman held back, though looking as if wanting to say something. His eyes watched Levi with an intensity that almost felt like desire, but the kind of playful desire of a tiger watching a grazing gazelle. Levi was used to being admired, hated, feared, in particular looked down on, but feeling like a piece of meat was somewhat unusual.

In the end, though, the swordsman closed his eyes with a thoughtful expression. "Nothing. My bad."

"Well thanks for that weird moment," Levi commented, brushing past him to climb the ladder. Not waiting to see what sort of expression the swordsman was making as he left, Levi brushed past him to join the others on the deck.

By the time he arrived, the giant skeleton had produced an extraordinary instrument shaped like a shark, and with it was filling the night air with raucous music. It was almost impossible not to dance to. The bright mood soon spread to the Survey Corps in spite of their predicament, many even getting up to dance. Somehow it was hard to be grim around this pirate crew. An awkward Eren was coaxed into dancing with the little animal, Chopper. And Hange found a strange comradeship with the skeleton, happily consenting to singing a duet. The music (and beverages) flowed as the night went on and inhibitions fell away. But not everyone was so willing to join the revelry.

Levi knew he should have been thinking about how to get back, especially when the others seemed to be letting their guard down. There were many things to consider, even when they were apparently so helpless now. The nature of these people with their fantastical powers. The intentions of the one called Law. Whether he had really brought them here on accident, if not what he was planning. But instead of worrying about their immediate situation, as should have been his instinct, a simple phrase kept echoing in his mind:

 _Am I going to have to tell him?_

As the night wore on, soon enough it was joined by a second...

 _If I don't, he'll stop trusting me._

And before long...

 _Erwin doesn't trust me._

And finally...

 _I'm going to lose Erwin._

As the jollity continued and the others grew more and more friendly and relaxed, Levi's gaze sank deeper and deeper into the cool surface of the ale in his hand. So deeply in fact that he failed to notice the gaze of the only one apart from himself not joining in.

At length, Levi's cold eyes flicked up at something happening across the deck from him. First he only saw Erwin. Then his eyes were drawn to Erwin's hand as it lifted. Erwin's hand gently took Robin's as she offered it to him. The two rose together and faced one another in the center of the deck.

The music slowed to a gentle dancing tune. The skeleton was clearly being considerate of them. Levi's eyes widened, unable to leave them as Erwin and Robin effortlessly joined together in fluid movements, somehow moving as one without a word spoken between them. Robin's tall, willowy figure melded perfectly into Erwin's large, muscular arms, and his masculine stability perfectly complemented her gracefulness. Though their eyes didn't meet, both smiled contentedly as if they had always been dancing together. Levi's fingers slipped and he nearly dropped his drink.

Instead, he set it down. Without looking at anywhere but the space just before his feet on the ground, he headed inside the ship's interior. He wasn't thinking, at that moment he just wanted to be anywhere away from what was happening on the deck.

He entered sudden silence as the door to the deck closed behind him. All at once, as soon as he was away from the noise, his head filled with irrational thoughts of little substance and far too much emotion. He hadn't even gathered the courage to tell Erwin how he felt and someone was already taking him away. She had her hands resting on his shoulders, a place Levi had never touched. Things like the fact that he had never asked to touch Erwin's shoulders, or that the two had just met and it was unlikely they were getting married any time soon, didn't reach him. It was all he could do to keep his breathing regular as he simply strode away from the scene that had robbed him of his last shred of control.

Distracted by the turmoil inside him, Levi wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He bumped headlong into a brutally hard, muscular body, evidently someone returning from the bathroom.

Roronoa Zoro, by now rather drunk, raised an eyebrow down at Levi. His eyebrows lifted briefly. "Mm?" he asked in his purring bass. "Ah, the gloomy one. What's your hurry?"

Levi gritted his teeth. Hell with this. He didn't care anymore. He grabbed Roronoa's arm and dragged him back the way he had come. "Come with me."

"Whoa...hey!"

Roronoa protested but didn't try to pull away as Levi dragged him down into the galley. As soon as they were both down in the dim light, Levi closed the hatch behind them. Now the sound of their breath and heartbeats was only occasionally overpowered by the gentle sounds of the creaking ship. For a moment, Levi stood with his face lowered, saying nothing.

Roronoa sighed. "Well. Here we are. What can I do for you?"

Levi replied so quietly he didn't even hear it himself.

"What was that?"

"Just shut up," Levi snapped.

Without hesitation, he stood on his toes and wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck, pulling himself up. He stole a kiss. Zoro's eyebrows twitched, but still he didn't resist. Levi drew back for a moment, his expression blank as he was thinking with his cock at the moment. None of Levi's previous partners had noticed the way his higher functions totally shut down when he wanted sex, but somehow he was sure Zoro did.

The swordsman's expression cooled to something close to mild irritation. "You just want a daki-makura?"

"Don't talk. It's distracting," Levi shot back, without a hint of remorse. He kissed Zoro again.

After a moment of resistance, Zoro's lips softened to his own. Levi shivered with misdirected desire, imagining pulling himself up toward a face that was a big higher up, and shoulders a bit wider. Hair a bit longer. And blonder. Nevertheless, he gently raked his fingers through the short green hair at the back of Zoro's neck, enjoying the flinch pass over the swordman's muscular body as he brushed a sensitive area. Would Erwin flinch like that too? Where was he sensitive?

At this point about one in three people that Levi ever seduced this way (there had been quite a few, ever since he started working under his unrequited love) would stop to ask him what was wrong, if they could help. A few to ask if he loved them. To date, no one had ever outright refused him. To be honest, although Levi made most decisions on instinct alone, this one included, if anyone would be the first to refuse it would likely be this samurai, he thought. But Zoro did none of the above.

He didn't much respond but neither did he pull away as Levi continued kissing him. Levi decided if he wasn't going to fight then that was good enough, he could do everything else for himself. In fact, he much preferred it this way. Then he could pretend he wasn't really doing this with another person.

He pushed Zoro back against some crates and boldly straddled him. Zoro merely watched expressionlessly as Levi sat back on Zoro's hips and started to undress. Levi cursed under his breath as he realized something.

"No lube," he muttered bitterly.

Zoro scratched the back of his neck in thought. He glanced at a crate across the room, seeming to consider whether he should say anything. At length, he sighed. He thumbed at the crate.

"Nami traded that marine woman for some bath products on Punk Hazard. If you don't mind incurring the wrath of Nami, you could take a look," Zoro said.

"Nh," Levi grunted, eyes following Zoro's thumb. He was honestly very interested in bath products in general (like the ocean for Eren and Armin, baths were something he dreamed about but never got to have for himself). He decided whoever Nami was (he barely had the willpower to remember his own men's names, he definitely didn't need to remember anyone here), it was probably worth her wrath.

Zoro leaned back against the crates, cradling his head in his hands as if ready to take a nap. "You don't know Nami very well," he muttered absently. "Don't look to me for protection when she finds out."

But Levi was still too agitated to pay much attention. He wanted sex. He open the crate and looked through the various bottles inside. There wasn't much, and it was mostly soap and perfume, but he did find an oil-like lotion that looked plausible. He returned to Zoro and shamelessly straddled him over his hips once again. Though it was a struggle to stop, his eyes caught something on Zoro's chest and he found it impossible not to comment on it. It was a massive scar.

"Good job surviving that," he muttered, honestly impressed. But the moment after he said it, Levi sighed. The fact was, any physical feature as unique and obvious as this made it hard to imagine this chest belonging to someone else.

Zoro glanced at it. "Mm." His eye flicked up to view Levi's expression and he smirked. "You don't like guys with scars?"

Levi scowled, though he couldn't help glancing from Zoro's one remaining eye to his scarred one, which was of course the swordsman's intention. But Levi merely scoffed. "Don't look down on me. Being slutty and being shallow are too different things."

To prove his point, Levi continued his attentions by pushing Zoro's tunic off his shoulders. He ran his hands along the steely skin as it was revealed into the low candlelight. A slight blush came to Levi's cheeks. He had to admit that even in the Survey Corps, musculature like this was rare. It was understandable. There was so little protein in their diet, few people were able to build substantial muscle no matter how fit they were. If Levi and his comrades could be compared to rabbits, fast and strong but not well built, then this man was probably something more like a thoroughbred racehorse.

But soon Levi closed his eyes. Thinking about this man didn't ease the pain in his chest. While running his hands down the smooth skin of Zoro's chest, he leaned down and licked his nipple. From his position he couldn't help but notice the gradually hardening bulge underneath his hips. Though Levi wasn't much better off himself.

"I'm surprised," Zoro said, his tone hardly different from normal. "The one with the ponytail was saying you're a clean freak. You're willing to lick someone you just met?" He gave a proud laugh. "Either that was a lie or you must like me a lot."

"Switch flipped," Levi replied without missing a beat, leaning back to undress his upper half. "When I want sex I lose track of things that disgust me." As further proof of this, he let his jacket and shirt flutter to the ground in a disorderly pile.

"Hm," Zoro commented, sounding disappointed.

For the moment, Zoro continued to be a passive bystander as Levi finished undressing his upper half and started on his lower. Finally Levi stood up before him, running his hands up Roronoa's powerful legs over his trousers. It was exciting being able to feel the muscle without being able to see it yet. He wondered if Erwin's leg muscles felt similar to this. Were they harder or softer? Was his skin warmer or colder? Erwin's legs were a little leaner from looking at him. Would they twitch when Levi caressed them?

A shaking sigh escaped Levi's lips. He pulled down the swordsman's trousers, though just enough to reach his cock. Without looking at it, he hungrily swallowed as much as he could. Though the swordsman managed to hold back any overt reaction, his cock twitched and grew thicker and hotter in Levi's small mouth. Levi couldn't fully stifle a moan.

Was Erwin's cock this thick? Levi blushed as he ran his tongue along the soft, warm surface, savoring the strange flavor. He had pictured Erwin's being a bit longer than this. He imagined how it would feel sliding in and out of his mouth, giving Erwin pleasure, and his hips twitched with desire. What would Erwin's face look like as Levi sucked his cock? Would he moan? Levi shuddered. Without stopping what he was doing, Levi reached for the lotion. In no hurry as he selfishly, slowly licked Zoro's cock, he poured some lotion into his hand and spread it over his hole.

Levi's eyes fluttered as he swallowed Zoro's cock to the back of his throat while teasing his own entrance with his finger. Levi's mouth was small so he couldn't fit much inside. Would Levi's mouth satisfy Erwin?

Levi inserted a finger into his own hole and sighed pleasantly around Zoro's cock. It had been more than two months since he had any action, and the last time he had been on top. But he was in a mood to be fucked. He pushed his finger inside to get used to it as fast as he could. Picturing the feel of Erwin's fingers driving inside him was enough to make a slim trail of precum drip from his cock. After a few more minutes he was trembling with desire, easily able to fit two fingers inside.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," came a low voice.

Levi flicked an irritable glance up at the swordsman. He didn't want to stop what he was doing long enough to tell the asshole to shut up, he was ruining his fantasy. But when he caught a glimpse of Zoro's expression at that moment, it was utterly cold. Levi had to raise an eyebrow at that one; judging from the state of the swordsman's throbbing cock, he clearly didn't dislike this. But obviously something else was going on, because Levi might almost say he looked pissed.

Zoro continued to watch him coldly without saying anything for a moment. Then he tilted his head in contemplation. "What's the matter? You don't want me to talk?"

Levi glared up at him. _Obviously not, you dick._

"It would make it harder to concentrate," Zoro continued casually. "When you're busy picturing someone else."

Levi's frown sharpened but he didn't stop what he was doing. Instead he returned his attention from Zoro's face to his cock, still using his fingers to search for his own sensitive spot. He added a third and flinched, making an embarrassingly feminine sound.

Zoro's cold, black eye watched him dispassionately. At length he asked, "Are you really having fun there, all by yourself?"

Levi had stopped listening. His eyes were closed and he was imagining Erwin's large, rough fingers in place of his own inside him. Now and then a moan escaped him as he unconsciously swallowed deeper as his fingers probed his own insides.

"Good for you," Zoro went on, in the same cold tone. "But since you interrupted my evening, I'm going to enjoy myself too if you don't mind."

Levi gasped as he felt a thick finger joining his own. He felt a brief flare of anger at the impertinence of this man, taking what hadn't been offered. But Levi had forgotten, it was much more stimulating receiving pleasure from someone else, no matter how he felt about that person. Even these thick, calloused fingers brought Levi pleasure he could not reach himself. And when he pictured some slightly longer and even more calloused fingers, his cock twitched and he gurgled into Zoro's cock as shocks of pleasure rushed over his skin. How would Erwin's fingers really feel, moving in and out of him?

With difficulty, Levi removed his own fingers and attempted to focus on Zoro's cock. But Zoro didn't give him long to get used to this before he added a second finger inside him. Levi moaned, his hips twitching. He halfheartedly swallowed Zoro's cock a few more times before Zoro's fingers delved deeply and he threw his head back with a cry. It was that spot, the one his own fingers were too small to reach. It had been so long, he'd forgotten what it felt like. It was such a shock, he had to grit his teeth to stop an orgasm coming. He collapsed against Zoro's chest, gasping.

Zoro gave a self-satisfied chuckle.

Levi looked up to glare at him. "Bastard..." he muttered.

"I didn't say anything," Zoro replied innocently, before plunging his fingers deep inside Levi again.

Levi clung to him, trembling. It felt so good he didn't think as he nuzzled his head against Zoro's chest, breathing in his scent. He must have bathed recently; he had a wonderfully clean, masculine smell. He guessed that Erwin would smell even better though, less rough. Although, maybe also...less sexy.

Levi unknowingly bit down on Zoro's chest as Zoro stroked him more and more passionately. Zoro grunted in a very satisfying way before he pushed his head forcefully into the crook of Levi's neck like a cat and breathed in deeply. The sensation of Zoro's breath against his neck made Levi cry out, his fingers digging into Zoro's arms as he held him. He wanted to cum.

"Enough..." he muttered, barely using any volume lest he sound wanton.

"Hm?" Zoro murmured near his ear.

Levi shivered before rounding a glare on him. "Enough. I'm loose. Put it in."

"You get off on the dominatrix thing, huh?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm finding it hard to think of a less nuanced come-on."

"Are you fucking around?"

"A little bit."

A vein throbbed in Levi's forehead. With a glare that had sent lesser men crying to their mothers, Levi lifted his head and met Zoro's one eye. He didn't say anything, knowing he didn't need to. His displeasure and the reason for it were obvious.

Zoro seemed mildly amused by this but said nothing. Instead, he added another finger. Levi gasped, withering against Zoro's chest once again. That one twinged a little. Well, he hadn't used this hole in months, so it was understandable. But Zoro was pretty thick. It would likely be tough at first.

"Where's that lube?"

"Here."

"Nh."

Levi frowned at him irritably. "You can talk about lacking nuance. Was that 'thank you' or 'fuck off'?"

Zoro turned his lips against Levi's ear and murmured huskily, "It was 'fuck you', actually." While Levi gritted his teeth against the wave of desire that struck him at this lusty whisper, Zoro coated his cock with lube again. "I'd say you're ready now."

"I was ready ten minutes ago too, dickhead," Levi grumbled.

But instead of pursuing this fight, he succumbed to his desire. He shifted his hips up toward Zoro's. He wrapped his legs around the larger man, resting his small hands on Zoro's thick, muscle-bound shoulders. He swallowed in anticipation. He took Zoro's throbbing, slick cock in his hand and guided it toward his hole as she slowly sat down further on Zoro's lap.

Levi expected it to hurt, but unfortunately (for his sanity) the moment Zoro's cock touched his hole he wanted to cum. He bit back a whimper of passionate agony as he slowly sank further down. Inch by inch he slowly accepted Zoro's hot length inside him. He had a few moments of being embarrassed at the no-doubt lustful expression on his face, but he caught Zoro watching intently where their bodies were connected. By the time Zoro was fully inside him, Levi's cock was twitching pitifully and leaking precum in a slow stream, aching to cum. Levi shut his eyes tight to keep control.

But a few seconds later, Zoro grasped Levi's slender hips in his large hands.

"Hey..." Levi murmured in panic, fearing what was about to come.

Zoro lifted him and then thrust to the deepest part of him.

"Ngh!" Levi cried, scratching Zoro's skin as he trembled, focusing all his energy on stopping his orgasm. He wouldn't be able to bear the shame if he came so soon. No matter what, he wanted to hear this brute grunting with pleasure before he gave him the satisfaction.

Zoro frowned in discomfort. "You're still tight. That was your pride talking when you said you were ready before, wasn't it?"

Levi could hardly admit that far from not being ready, he was desperately close to cumming. Indeed, it did sting a little, but in a way that almost made it more exciting. He couldn't stop himself from gripping into the thick, rippling muscles of Zoro's arms as Zoro slowly pulled him up and down again.

"Hm," Zoro muttered, seeming frustrated. "I can't tell if you're enjoying this or not. Why don't you move for yourself?"

Levi bit his lip and let his head fall on Zoro's shoulder as he caught his breath. He didn't want Zoro to see his face now, ashamed of how good he was feeling. But there was no getting around it now.

"I...can't..." Levi murmured, so quietly he didn't even hear himself.

Zoro craned his neck back to try to see his face. "What was that?"

Levi felt himself blushing as he gritted his teeth and glared at Zoro for a moment before melting into his desire and looking at him pleadingly. "Fuck me more...please..."

Zoro's eyes widened. Moments later, a slight smirk met his lips. "Since you asked nicely."

Without pulling out, Zoro grasped Levi tight against him for a moment to stand up. Levi gasped at the sensations assaulting him, from the change in angle inside him to the strong arms encircling him to the shifting muscles under his fingers. Zoro turned and laid Levi down on his back on the crates. He smirked again, making sure the angle was comfortable for both of them. He wrapped his hands around Levi's ass. Then he drove as deep inside Levi as he could.

"Ahhh!" Levi cried, throwing his head back as precum flew from his cock. Over and over Zoro pounded inside him, making his vision go blurry with sensation. Within moments, Levi came onto his own chest.

Yet neither Zoro nor Levi wanted to stop. Zoro noticed, but he merely squeezed Levi's ass and continued thrusting inside him, barraging Levi's prostate with jolts of pleasure. Levi choked out gasps, raising his hands to cover his eyes in desperation. Wordlessly, Zoro pulled Levi's hands to his sides. He lifted them up to force Levi against him like pulling the reins of a horse.

"Ngh!" Levi cried, ashamed but unable to fight the waves of pleasure washing over him. He had cum so recently all his nerves were on fire. Part of him was scared and wanted this to stop as soon as possible...but it was a small part.

"Ah...ah...fuck...so good!" Levi whimpered.

Zoro said nothing, but his breathing heightened as he increased the pace, ramming Levi's insides. Levi closed his eyes tight, clenching his teeth and moaning as a stream of drool ran down the corner of his mouth.

Zoro made a noise like an animal and let Levi's hands drop in order to grasp his hips. He pumped once more inside him and then filled his insides with cum. Levi shuddered, his consciousness fading in and out with the sensations rattling his mind. Zoro held him tight against his hips as he continued cumming for several long seconds after that.

When Zoro finally stopped cumming, he rested his hands on the crates on either side of Levi's body and the two panted there for a moment to recover. Levi kept twitching now and then as the endorphins slowly faded from his brain. He closed his eyes, hoping it would linger for a moment longer. His chest ached as he thought of Erwin's twitching cock filling his insides with proof of his pleasure.

A few minutes later, Levi faced away from Zoro as he restored some order to his clothing. Of course he was going to need to go straight to the bathroom to sort out the mess that moron had made coming inside him. That was what he was thinking about as Zoro watched him with his arms folded.

"Satisfied?"

Levi flicked a scowl at the swordsman. "You want something?"

For a moment, Levi felt some judgment in Zoro's unforgiving, one-eyed gaze. But soon enough it passed from Levi to look absently at the exit.

"No," Zoro replied. "Just impressed. Personally I wouldn't be satisfied getting fucked by some guy I barely know as a substitute for someone I really love."

The muscles in Levi's jaw tightened. But he merely straightened his cravat, saying nothing.

"Well. It's none of my business." Zoro pushed off the post he'd been leaning on and headed for the hatch.

"Hey."

With a withering look, Zoro turned at the sound of Levi's voice.

Levi snapped his jacket straight on his shoulders. He turned his dark eyes on the swordsman. "You weren't bad. Keep me company the next time I need a fuck."

Zoro laughed coldly. "You don't hold back at all, do you? Whatever, I don't mind." But slowly, his smile faded. " 'Keep you company'? Maybe. Fuck you? No."

Levi blinked in absolute shock. He'd never been so insulted before. Actually, he was sure no one had ever outright refused him in this way before. "Excuse me?"

"Don't get me wrong. If you just want a fuck-buddy, I don't really have a problem with that." After a moment of thought, Zoro turned and strode back to where Levi was. He gripped Levi's cravat and drew him close. "But if you ever picture that guy when you're with me again, I'll cut you."

Levi felt a small shiver of fear run up his spine. The power of this swordsman's gaze was on par with Erwin's. He didn't want to test it.

"You can't do it, can you?" Zoro muttered, holding Levi's gaze with an unreadable emotion. Or maybe it was no emotion at all, which was ever scarier. "He's got you and you can't get free. In that case, either grow a pair and do something about it, or get over it. Stop involving other people in your selfish game."

With that, he released Levi's rumpled cravat and walked out. When the hatch thumped shut behind him, Levi stood in the lonely silence left behind. He reached a hand up to the cravat he'd now have to wash and iron. Yet somehow, he didn't feel pissed about that.

Surprisingly, what he thought about now was that this violent swordsman was kind. But more than that, he felt the gaping hole in his chest where his love for Erwin lay. A love that he knew would never come to anything. He always forgot the two-sided coin of fucking to ease his desires; during sex he could forget about it, but after he was left with somehow even less than he started.

He gazed at the darkened wood of the galley floor and thought about what he wanted to do. For now, the fear of losing what little he had stopped him from making a decision. Instead, he sighed.

"He sure preaches a lot, for an animal who'll cum inside a guy on a first date."

And privately he added, _Still. Not such a bad guy._


End file.
